Rustam Minnikhanov speaks at the opening ceremony of the ninth Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai

On April 8, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov took part in the official opening ceremony of the ninth edition of the Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai on the theme “Mapping the Future of FDI: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalization” and spoke as a representative of the Russian Federation at the plenary session.

Answering the questions from the moderator of the meeting, energy expert, CEO and Chairman of MRL Corporation Cornelia Meyer about the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on the economy of Tatarstan, Minnikhanov emphasized that digital transformation and innovative transformations are among the priority areas of development in the Russian Federation. A new objective is to ensure the development of the digital economy in the republic, where every economically active citizen is digitally literate and the state and business have high digital competencies and systematically use them in their activities. Digital transformation is aimed at transforming all branches of economic activity, including industry and manufacturing. In the era of Industry 4.0, tools and technologies such as big data analysis, machine learning, computer vision, industrial Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, 3-D modeling and printing, digital twins, unmanned aerial vehicles and robotics are used. There are many examples of digitalization in our republic, for example, in KAMAZ Automaker, in Tatneft Oil Company and in the Kazan Helicopter Plant.

“The first Russian city of high technologies for IT specialists, namely, the city of Innopolis was built in Tatarstan several years ago. Innopolis was established on the principle of “live, learn, work”. The city is developing, filling with life and attracting the most talented IT specialists to live and work. The cross-cutting technologies are used in practice in the city. A network of 5G base stations has been launched in Innopolis and several other cities of the republic, “smart meters” automatically record the indications of the consumption of utility resources and independently transmit information to the management company. Innopolis also became the first city in Europe with an unmanned taxi service, where a test zone was especially established for it in the city and Innopolis residents take part in testing,” Tatarstan President said and gave a number of examples from other branches of the economy and social sphere of the republic.

Minnikhanov emphasized that Tatarstan always aims to be a leader in all directions in Russia and to be known throughout the world. The availability of competent specialists directly affects the development of the region as a whole. Continuous education is one of the key principles for maintaining competitiveness. It is important to ensure the development of skills at all stages and levels of human development - from primary school to universities and specialists of the highest category. The centers of youth innovation creativity encourage the interest of young people in high-tech solutions in the area of innovative development of science and technology, help to identify talented young people, teach various professions of the future from a young age and establish the basis for future engineering and technical personnel.